Living History – A 9/11 Remembrance

As a native New Yorker, I take September 11th very seriously. Not only was our country attacked, but my home state was attacked. My daughter is on the cusp of being a teenager (just a few months from now). This year, I exposed her to what 9/11 really means.

I did my personal remembrance at work. I posted my favorite songs, shared stories, said more prayers and felt blessed. I had friends share their memories of the day. I printed out pictures for the project I would have my daughter complete for her history lesson.

Out of my five children, she wasn’t born when 9/11 took place. For her, it was a history lesson. For me, and many others, it was the day the world stood still as we watched in horror as our country was attacked.

When I got home, we opened the laptop, I had her read the memories of family and my friends. She saw pictures. Her mouth was opened and she covered her mouth with her hand. She was being exposed to what evil looked like. She was exposed to death and terrorism. Yet, she was also exposed to heroes. She was exposed to the faith, kindness, love of strangers and to patriotism.

She saw her mother lose composure. A tear escaped when we were watching images put to Alan Jackson’s, “Where We You When The World Stopped Turning”. She saw me, got up, gave me a hug and we watched the rest of the video. She shed a few tears. It was emotional. However, my reality was her history. I, and others, are living history. I believe it’s important to impart our knowledge with the the next and future generations.

With a few projects under her belt, we brainstormed how to complete her project. She cut out paper, wrote bits and pieces of what she took away from her “lesson”. She arranged, glued and taped her project into existence. I am proud of her work. I am honored to share such an important day with her.

I am blessed to be able to home educate. Knowledge doesn’t always have to come from books. Use the resources around you to live, learn and thrive.